Sunday, March 25, 2018

Busy week

One more thing I DIDN'T do last week was drive to LA on Sunday to see Orpheus & Euridice at the LA opera.  I mention it only because it is evidence that, in spite of the fact that I am fighting it tooth and nail, my life is constricting.  It is getting harder and harder to make myself, oh, drive the two hours to LA.  It is really a nothing drive, especially on Sunday, I know the way, the music center is two blocks from the freeway exit.  Why not go?  The excuse this time was that I don't love the opera well enough to make the effort, and, besides, rush tickets in LA are not such a good deal, only half price, making a ticket about $150.00  I get so ig angry with myself when I do (or in this case, don't do) that.  It makes me feel really old.

The musicals class was, as expected, fabulous.  We heard snippets of, and interviews about, Oklahoma, On The Town, Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate, South Pacific and Guys and Dolls, and ended with Sondheim's Follies (not, by the way, a big success when it opened.  It did, if you remember, have a great bit by Mandy Potempkin when he was about 18...  I myself like it, as I do everything by Sondheim.)

Finally managed to get neighbor Michael out for a belated birthday dinner on Tuesday night (his birthday was March 5, but he is hard to pin down).  We went to Outback - his choice, not mine certainly - and had an ordinary but adequate dinner.  We did have a chance for a good chin-wag, though.  Both of us have been really busy this season, and I try to respect his privacy, so our paths haven't crossed much.  It was a lovely evening.

Wednesday and Thursday Barb Seagram gave a seminar at the bridge club.  You have heard me speak about her in these pages before, but it bears repeating; not only is she a wonderful bridge player and a great teacher, she is personable and engaged, and altogether a lot of fun.




The handsome fellow is Alex (yes, another Alex), who Barbara fondly refers to as her current husband (just, she says, to keep him on his toes....I don't know how he feels about it, but it makes me feel uncomfortable.)

Robin and I always help Barbara sell her books at these functions.  This time, Robin couldn't make it (she has recently moved - more to follow), so the other Alex was my assistant this time.  I am a pretty good salesman - I tell everyone who will listen that I must have had a pushcart in my history (and Barbara's Alex, coming from s shtetel in Poland not too far from my father's family, is one of the few people who know exactly what I mean).  We sold a lot of books.  All in all, a lovely few days, which also included....

....Dinner with (my, so to speak) Alex, his wife Vickie, other bridge instructor Angela, and her husband Tom) at Red Lobster, more my style...





Good food, this time, and easy conversation.

And on Thursday afternoon, my "wellness" exam. Although usually loathe to see anyone in the medical profession for any reason, this is one I like.  Especially since I am supposed to be dead.  I enjoy telling them that no, I haven't fallen this year, and no, I am not depressed, and yes I can walk without getting out of breath, and yes, I can remember those five items, and have them tell me that I am well.  And indeed, I feel well.  I worry (although not exorbitantly) about my kidney and liver functions, as the medication I am taking is hard on both.  So far, though, both are functioning normally.  The down side - I seem to have shrunk another inch in height (not in weight, heaven help me....).  Oh well, if that is the worst that old age has to through at me so far, well, I can live with it.

Thursday night was another National Theater Live outing with Chaya, this time, the new production of Julius Caesar,  It was interactive; the audience was part of a rock rally for Caesar (too loud for too long), and part of the battle scenes (ditto), but the acting was great, and I am always in awe that:  1) after 400 years, these plays are amazing relevant; and 2) how many of these lines have become part of our common parlance.  Well, perhaps not so common, but you know what I mean.

In the not-so-successful Canadian Voices class, we discussed Stephen Leacock and Robert Service (both of whom I knew of but have not read), Margaret Atwood (who, popular as she is, I do not like much, although she does get brownie points for a recent article on the #MeToo movement), Alice Munro (whose short stories I do like.  Extra credit for those of you know that she owned and ran Munro's Books in Victoria.), Margaret Laurence, Robertson Davies and Mordechai Richler (among my favourites), and others.  It was the briefest of reviews, of course, but I am left with a longer "to read" list!

Robin couldn't make bridge on Friday, but asked me to come over to see her new house.  I was quite prepared not to like it - too big, too posh, too too.  However, it, and the complex are really quite lovely...






I,of course, would feel silly in it, but it suits Robin to a tee.

On Friday night, Desert Rose Productions, our LGBTQ theater company, put on Tennessee Williams Suddenly Last Summer.   I have never seen it on stage before, and it is hard to get the image of Elizabeth Taylor out of your head once you have seen the movie, but I do like the play, and they did a reasonable job.

What else?  The saying of the week is:  The only person you should strive to be better than is the person you were yesterday.

And finally, the book list.  I finally made it to the library, and come up with a good haul.  First, Three Daughters of Eve, by Elif Shafak.  She is apparently Turkey's most famous woman writer; I had never heard of her.  (too many books, too little time...)  The premise was The Magus, Turkish style, fascinating professor manipulates three students, one a believer, one a skeptic, and one confused.  It was a page turner, and I barely put it down until I was done.  Now to find the rest of her works..

Next was an accident.  I picked up The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, by Alan Bradley.  I picked it up because the title is one of the few lines of poetry I know (Andrew Marvell, To his Coy Mistress) - The grave's a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace....  As it turns out, it is a young adult mystery.  Well, once I picked it up, I was enchanted, and just kept reading.

Aren't libraries wonderful?

Last, an old favourite. P.D. James.  She has died, of course, but this was a book of six short mysteries, called Sleep No More. Great stories - I do love short stories... God, I hate it when your favourite authors die on you.....

Next week should be less hectic; everything is winding down for the season.  I'll talk to you all anon.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

The things I didn't do this week - and some things that I did.

I DIDN'T have my own car to drive, to start with.  As noted, I was experiencing great angst about it all, but with the help of friend Alex, found a trustworthy mechanic (apparently not an oxymoron), and off it went.  Meanwhile, Alex gave me his car (now a spare) to drive...


.....yes, that is me.  It suits me, don't you think?  An oldie, but a goodie, just like me....

I DIDN'T go to zumba on Tuesday either, but I had an excuse - it was the first of three spring classes on The Broadway Musical, from Showboat to Sondheim, from Hair to Hamilton.  The instructor, Cash Baxter (great name, isn't it?) was one I had taken classes with previously, most recently on Art Theft and Forgery.  He is a funny old codger, full of stories, one of those whose classes I would take whatever the subject.  I hadn't realized, though, that he had actually acted (and directed too, I think) on Broadway in the good old days.  It proved to be as much fun as I suspected it would be, and I am looking forward to the next two sessions.

I did NOT go to the "meet and greet" dinner at Mario's hosted by the Canadian Club on Tuesday evening.  People at these things, in spite of the title, seem to come in two's, and I wasn't up for it.  (I found out later that, indeed, there were some single people, but they did not come alone, two sisters coming together, for example, or a momentarily single person coming with a friend. Oh, well.)

I DID play bridge with Alex and Chaya on Monday and Wednesday respectively (in the first successfully, in terms of master points, in the second not so successfully in that regard, but successful in terms of having a good time) - everyone loves to come to our table, as we are so clearly having fun.  (NO bridge with Robin on Friday - children and grandchildren visiting - what an excuse, I mean, really?)

I DID go to the Met broadcast of Rossini's Semiramide.  For me, it was a mixed success.  They perform this opera about once every twenty five years (the last time I saw it was in San Francisco in the 80's, with Marilyn Horne and Monserrat Caballe), because it requires five strong singers (including a trouser role) and massive staging.  In the Met's production, the voices were all glorious, although their acting skills left something to be desired.  The trouser role in particular spent all her time looking at the prompter instead of the audience.  (That, of course, is one of the pitfalls of HD - you can see clearly things that would not have been so noticeable in the audience, even in orchestra seats...)  The music was glorious too - the orchestra did a great job.  I found the costumes tacky, though (again, something that wouldn't have been so noticeable in the house), and the staging seemed tired, even though it was (reasonably) new.  Finally, while with Mozart there are never too many notes for me, Rossini did seem to have too many - it seemed interminable!

And while we are talking about opera, how about James Levine, let go from the Met due to allegations of sexual impropriety, and now suing.  What a stupid, stupid man.  (And yes, I fully recognize all that he did for the Metropolitan Opera and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, as well as other orchestras around the world.)  I am not a big believer in trial by accusation, as most of you know (shades of Salem and witches), but these are not anonymous accusations, but named persons with corroborated stories, and now it will all come out in the front pages of the New York Times.  It is likely true, as Levine alleges, that Gelb (the general manager of the Met) has been trying to get Levine out for years.  Well, he should have left years ago.  He has been sick, his conducting has recently, by all accounts, been erratic, and he looks like a drooling idiot.  Why can't people just stop while their reputations are still intact?

Like Tillerson.  But that's another story for another day.

 So, I DID go to zumba  on Thursday(I wish I could attach audio....)

I DID go to my other spring class on Friday, this one entitled Canadian Voices, with Gary Walter as the instructor.  As with the desert, because I didn't grow up there, I always feel as though I am missing something in Canada.  Hence, the course.  The first lesson, he talked about an interesting mixture of performers (Stuart McLean, Peter Gzoski, John Barton), writers (Pierre Berton) and businessmen who influenced Canadian life for the better (Jim Pattison and Mel Cooper).  Next session focuses more on the writers (from Steven Leacock and Robert Service to Michael Ondaatje; the third will be the by-now obligatory women and native voices.  Perhaps not as successful as some of my other choices, but hey, it can't hurt
!
And I DID go an opening at the Galen Art Museum on Friday evening, although it was a near thing.  I almost didn't go - see reasons above - but I was tempted by a new show of photographs (new and old) of the desert, not to mention free cocktails and appies.




I have been hanging around the art crowd for long enough now (I am a member of both the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Galen) that I know lots of the people (they tend to frequent bridge and the opera and theater events too, of course, and even some of the classes).  So I spend about an hour being social (even under those favourable circumstances, that is about all I can bear...) and then, when it got dark and chilly, went inside to see the photos.  The old ones - circa 1925 - were by Stephan H Willard - no, I hadn't heard of him before either - the new ones by a variety of photographers I had also never heard of (strange, how we learn the names of artists in other mediums but photographers, not so much).

Anyway, there were a lot of interesting - and moving - photographers.  And yes, I tried to put into practice the idea of "seeing slowly", that is letting the pictures draw me, spending more time with them then I would have normally, and trying not to be distracted by either the well meaning wall plaques and the people around me.  All in all, a lovely evening (again, coming home with the top down, the balmy air and the stars, a perfect finish).

Saturday, in spite of the fact it was a gorgeous sunny day, I spent it indoors playing two sessions of bridge.  (The excuse was that it was too windy to be outdoors, as indeed it was - it often is this time of year)  I played in the morning with usual partner Alex, and in the afternoon with a pick-up partner, here for a week from Idaho.  It is always a trick - so to speak - reconciling different styles of bridge and different conventions in the fifteen minutes usually available, but she was a lovely lady, and we had a great time.  And I came in the money (metaphorically, of course - I would be very poor if I played bridge for money) both morning and afternoon, which might be a first for me!!!

Which brings me to today, my sitting in the sun with my coffee and my New York Times day (not so much wind today).

We did have a dump of rain for a few hours - note I said a few hours, not a few days, Vancouverites - and so I thought I would show you our mountains with snow on the top....


....this is just how I like my snow.  Closer to home, however, the flowers are blooming...



......and the birds are making a racket...


All in all, a lovely week, marred only by the making of my plane reservation to return to Vancouver on April 28.  Don't get me wrong, it will be great to see my friends in Vancouver, but I am having such a wonderful time here, and the season seems to have flown by.....

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Why am I alw ays in such a rush?

More about that later.  (First the activity, then the philosophy.....)

Where did I leave off?  I think I had just taken friend Dee to the airport on Monday, after her whirlwind visit (or at least it seemed that way to me...)

Tuesday, I went on a long anticipated excursion of desert discovery.  Those of you who know me know that I am not really an outdoor kind of a person, nor am I a hiker, really.  (It is my firm belief that if god had meant us to hike, he would have given us hooves, like a mountain goat.)  However, I am fascinated by all the flora and fauna in the desert, and take every opportunity to explore them.  This particular excursion was sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (hereinafter referred to as Olli), where I take my classes.
Our first stop was the Coachella Nature Reserve, quite close, actually, but a resource I didn't even know about.


 

Our guides.....






This ridge was actually created by an elidement (I think that is the right word) of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate (I am sure you all know that we are living on the San Andreas Fault....)





 There is actually water (hence the name, Palm Springs...)




Then off to Desert Hot Springs (still with the spring theme....)


In spite of the fact that we have not had one bit of rain in 2018, there were still some desert blooms to be seen....








In addition to the aforesaid springs (open to the public, including one called, fittingly, Two Bunch Palms), there are at least a few of the original homesteads which can be visited.  The one we saw was called the Cabot Pueblo, all built from scraps from the railroads, nearby mines, etc.







I keep on talking about the desert, singular.  The experts actually consider this to be the confluence of four deserts, the Sonora, Mohavi, Chihuahua and Grand.

Those of you who have been in the neighborhood know that we have wind farms at the approach to Palm Springs.  We headed there next, and learned about renewable energy.  (....including the fact that by 2020, 33% of California's energy requirements will be met by renewable energy, including wind, sun and hydrothermal.  I was impressed...)

Then off to the Whitewater River (no, not that Whitewater, for those of you of a certain age...), one of two major sources of our water supply (the other being The Colorado River).

And then back to civilization...  We were all intrigued enough to want to learn more.  Which was the point, I imagine..

And when I say civilization, I mean civilization.  I had been invited for drinks and dinner that evening, by Louise and Charles, acquaintances from bridge.  I forgot about the camera - you'll have to trust me when I tell you that their place is very very civilized.  As are they.  Theirs is an interesting story, and they don't mind if I share it.  She is 90, he is a bit younger.  They were both widowed, having lost their respective partners to illness.  They met on the Internet, 20 years ago, in the early days of Internet dating.  She confided to me that her only regret is that she is deteriorating (cancer, macular degeneration, etc.), and she did not want him to have to be a nurse, again.  He does it happily, though, as he is devoted to her, and she is amazingly active, in spite of her ailments - playing bridge three times a week (and no, she doesn't drive) and baking and cooking. Really, they are both an inspiration.

After more zumba and training and bridge (I will spare you the details), friend Chaya and I went to see an encore of National Theater Live 's production of Hamlet, with Benedict Cumberbach.  God, it was even better the second time around.  Written 400 years ago, and, with the right staging and acting, it still resonates!  I highly recommend it.  (We're off to Julius Caesar in a few weeks...)

Friday night's excursion, on the other hand, did not resonate at all.  It was a benefit for Olli, a play written by one of its instructors, Frank Torino, called Marylin, Madness and Me.





.....hypothesizing a meeting - in the last months of her life - between a low-life mechanic and Marylin (and yes, this is how they spelled it, explained in the play but not worth repeating.)   I could barely stand that breathy voice in real life.  A bad imitation?  Yuk.  In any event, I had already done my part - i.e., donated my money.

Generally speaking, I hate intermissions anyway, especially at functions like these, where it is doubly hard to be alone.  Anyway, I have long since discovered that plays rarely get better in the second act, which are inevitably too long.    The best part of the evening was driving home in the balmy desert night with the top down....

Saturday, Geoff and Marvin came by for dinner and Scrabble.


I really do enjoy entertaining, and should do it more often, and they are great guests.

And today Sunday, I did - well, absolutely nothing.  I went out to get the Sunday New York Times with a jacket over my pajamas (they were Calvin Kleins, all right, no one could tell), got home, made a fresh cup of coffee and some toast, and sat around in the sunshine all day reading the paper and daydreaming....

I did have some company....


(actually, there was a veritable bunny convention on the lawn, but this guy will have to be representative, as he posed so nicely...)

There was an outing tonight, to Woody's, a Palm Springs favourite that has music on Sunday evenings.  Howard, the leader of our gym group, arranges these outings from time to time, and it is always a shock how good these people look when they are wearing real clothes...












The music tonight was MoTown. at least part of the soundtrack of our youth...






....and we got pretty wild....






.....at least for folks in our 70's.

Once again, a good time was had by all.

I can't drink like I used to though, so I am off to bed (didn't stay for the second set...).  I leave you with this final thought from our Behavioural Economics instructor:  Each of you is entitled to your own opinion.  However, noone is en titled to his own facts...

Oh, and I guess I should explain the title.  David used to complain that I was always in a rush.  He was right. One of my  goals this year is to slow down and smell the proverbial roses (that is really a terrible metaphor for me, as I actually hate roses, but that is another story, and, as mentioned, I'm tired...